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Former Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda has lost Rs 3 lakh to cybercriminals after fraudsters allegedly hacked into his bank accounts. The incident came to light on Tuesday night, September 17, when Gowda noticed multiple debit alerts on his phone.
“One lakh each has been siphoned from HDFC, SBI, and Axis Bank accounts. I have filed a police complaint in this regard,” he told reporters on Wednesday, September 18.
The Cybercrime, Economic Offence and Narcotics (CEN) police station, Bengaluru North, has registered a case. Officials said it was still unclear how Gowda’s mobile phone was compromised and are investigating whether he clicked on any malicious links.
This comes just two days after the mobile phones of actor-director Upendra and his wife and actor Priyanka Upendra, were hacked. Fraudsters allegedly compromised their data and siphoned about Rs 2 lakh from their friends.
Priyanka said she received a call from someone posing as the representative of a Dubai-based online platform, who claimed they were unable to deliver her package. After following the caller’s instructions and entering a code, her phone was compromised. She forwarded the link to Upendra’s phone, which also crashed soon after.
The cybercriminals then sent fraudulent WhatsApp messages from Priyanka’s account to her contacts, requesting urgent financial help. Several of them transferred money, which was later siphoned off.
According to official data, Karnataka has recorded more than 7,500 cybercrime cases this year, with over 5,500 reported from Bengaluru city alone.